mai otome 23
Categories: anime, episodic review, mai hime/otome
Tagged: mai hime/otome
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Mai returns, but does Sunrise know they don’t have 50 episodes to work with here?
Prophetic. I said around two months ago that “Mai Otome just took a left turn into a boiling vat of hot lava” and Natsuki drives off a cliff. If only I could use my powers for good (or at least for buying lotto tickets).
After their collision with Nina, Arika, Mashiro, and Freedom Miyu end up ripping a hole in space time and end up in the Black Valley. This type of plot contrivance is usually native to Star Trek. There’s a place at Haleakala National Park where it is possible to see one’s own shadow in the clouds like this. The native Hawaiians used to believe that such a symbol was the blessing for the hunt, or something like that. Space time and native Hawaiian culture in a post about Mai Otome, whodthunkit?
Even though Nagi is furthering his scheme to take over the world and every other nation is going nuts, Mai has time to cook a home cooked meal. Girl, you know where your priorities are! Though I’m glad to see her Otome skills being of use. Tuition to Gaulderobe academy: $30,000 a year. Books, sewing equipment, uniforms: $1,000. Being able to cook ramen without a stove? PRICELESS.
(Anyone else notice that she puts on her Otome robe, thus taking off the Otome apron, to cook. Isn’t that the point of an apron…? Who’d cook by taking off an apron? How can one do nakkid apron without an apron? I’m off-topic, I know.)
As stated before, Mai knows her ramen. I can only imagine Chairman Kaga going, “RAMEN. Allez Cuisine!” with a smirk on his face. He’s the best.
Mai and Miyu break down the story for Arika and Mashiro, you know, since two characters who haven’t appeared much should know the story much better than the main leads of the series. Arika is Rena’s daughter, Nina is the true Queen of Nagi Windbloom, and Mashiro is really Taro and Mariel‘s love child.
Still, the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket, and Arika is happy about this. She probably worked out a deal with Nagi, “Gimme Mr Wong, and I’ll help you sabotage Mai.”
Yep. No America complex here.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world feels more urgency than Mai and Arika. Yukino decides to convene some sort of conference on “Where did our scriptwriters go wrong?” Special panel discussion headed by moy. I’ll be in the dealer’s room selling, “I waited 23 episodes for Mai, and all I got was a lousy earwax cleaning” T-shirts.
Yep. Three episodes to go. Still explaining the plot. Ramen time out. Now earwax cleaning time out. It reminds me of a professor I had for a class about Fourier transforms… he waited until the second to last week to introduce Fourier transforms after spending four weeks on reviewing integrals. Yep, that’s about the same pacing.
Nagi plans to use Nina to take over the world, and Sergey is conflicted about this. Does he not want to take over the world? Does he not want Arika harmed? Does he not want Nina harmed? Why exactly is he pained? If he wants to screw over Nagi, save the world, and prevent Arika from being harmed, there’s a very simple solution. It would be repulsive to everyone not from West Virginia, but, hey, think of all the lives that could be saved with some male protein.
Back to the Black Valley, Mai and Arika have a heart-to-heart only there’s fewer calories here than an episode of REC. “What does it mean to be an Otome?” “I don’t know.” Thanks, Sunrise. I could never have figured that out without your help.
Otome Mai is nothing like Hime Mai. She’s not emotional, and she’s acting like a mother to Arika. In fact, this scene feels ripped from ã‚ã‚ã£å¥³ç¥žã•ã¾ã£ where Belldandy was comforting Skuld when Skuld first arrived on Earth and got clingy to Bell. This just proves that Belldandy is the omega, and even Mai concedes that.
Comfy.
“This loli trap is no good. They’re too old! Toss them back, and get some fresh melonpan this time.”
Ratings surge at the 14 minute mark. Mai cooks ramen, cleans Mikoto’s earwax, and takes a dip in the hot springs. Why does this feel like an episode of Grenadier?
They’re still babbling on about the story, yes, having Mai and Natsuki in a hot springs improves the watchability dramatically, but it doesn’t solve the fundamental problem: lack of crazy, emotional lesbians. Or at least they need a sterotypical “breast check” or “oops, dropped the soap” bit. Still, Natsuki is looking fantastic… she’s the Adult Skuld to Mai’s Belldandy.
My favorite part though was when Freedom Miyu gets up and Nao’s eyes grows big. See, toss in more crazy, emotional lesbians with over the top weaponry, and Mai Otome would be back in it.
Nina, a.k.a. Godzilla, a.k.a. Destroy Gundam, is laying waste to towns using an organ as her weapon. Of course, the original Destroy Gundam managed to fend off Impulse with Shinn piloting it (he didn’t know it was Stellar until after Kira impaled it, so it’s not like he was holding back), yet Luna was able to take a few down in Impulse five episodes later. Luna >> Shin as a mobile suit pilot? Or monkeys >> Sunrise scriptwriters? I prefer the former, but I won’t argue the latter.
The team decides the best way to deal with Destroy Nina is to dispatch Natsuki and Nao to Gaudlerobe, which is 100% logical considering neither can use their robes. Meanwhile, Infinite Justice Mikoto, Strike Freedom Mai, and Freedom Miyu are left behind babysitting Arika and Mashiro. Perfectly logical.
So now it’s down to three episodes for Mai and Mikoto to miraculously train Arika, or that’s how the logic goes. Mai Otome is still stumbling along, I’m glad they finally discarded any sense of seriousiness. My favorite bits from the episode were the attempted Mai Hime jokes, which were inevitable, and the classic, “I hope Shizuru isn’t suffering without me” look on Natsuki’s face. I think she’s doing just fine for a lobotomy patient.
Still, even with my complaining, there’s no better series out there right now that just has so much untapped potential for comedy. Oddly, it’s become funnier than Keroro, Azumanga, Pani Poni Dash, Family Guy, and Initial D all rolled up in one, yet there’s really no joke in Otome besides how bad the writing has gotten. It’s just so bad, it’s good, and I’m looking forward to see Mai Otome‘s final plummet into a vat of boiling lava.
DO YOUR BEST deshou, k?
22 Responses to “mai otome 23”
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Wow You Sure Do Get Off Topic Alot T-T I Donwloaded Mai Otome For Some Shoujo Ai And Never Found Any….I Hope There Is More The 3 Episodes Left Though!! Nina Is A Bad Character For Being Queen…She Doesnt Even Look Like Them… Oh Well I Just Cant Wait Too See All The Otomes Battle! Thanks For The Aweseom Blog Enterie! ^-^
Mokoto as Akira’s Shisyo? Is DBZ team working here too? 2 weeks here, two minutes there.
Even Nao is pondering why exactly they went all the way out here just to go back, still robeless and now car-less and lipstick grappler-less.
And I think the team that did Gundam Seed Destiny learned their lesson and instead of introducing the Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyde of the show 10 episodes in, they did it 20 episodes in this time.
Good thing we have 50 episodes.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY MAI!
Being the girl I am, I really wanted some Wong+Arika action, but seeing as how things are unfolding…o___O Wong sure has some complexes to deal with now. But I would like to see the relation between Mai and Sergey, if there is one. I will never forget Tate! :
OMGZ! Comment eaten! Continued:
I will never forget Tate! :( AND NINA+WONG SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN LEST I CUT MYSELF MANY TIMES O____O
Oh, and Mikoto as a cat god is priceless. But not as priceless as being able to cook without a stove. That part made me lawl.
Sergei, Imperator of idoicy, is a lost cause and is Nagi’s Suka (that worthless ferengi pahtak). It now falls upon Brigadier General Armitage to crush Nagi and Schwartz. He has one option left and he will probably pout like Tate cause he wants another way out. From the look of the preview it looks like Gunboat diplomacy, huzzah. Hopefully the mathem will come somewhat close to Homeworld 2 ship battles. I hope that anothe MIYU-machina will give the pillars their robes and bat girl will come out of no where, and Shizuru with MIYU-machina will make a great escape and pwn Tomoe. If we can have Trek caliber techno-babel it makes no difference at this point what lame excuse they can come up with. You have can have Scotty/Bones/Sulu/Chekov/Spock/Kirk/Picard/Sisko/Garak beam down with some tricobalt explosives or have a battlaion of Klingons come down and show that loser Sergei how real men get shit done (Hell you can even have the Romulans show Sergei how real men gather intel and assasinate people).
Remember Haruka:
When we land against the Artai, don’t forget to hit them and hit them hard. When we meet the enemy we will kill him. We will show them no mercy. Nina, Sergei, and Nagi have killed thousands of your comrades and they must die. If you lead your men against the enemy find them shooting at you and when you get within two hundred yards of them they wishes to surrender- oh no! Those bastards will die! You will kill them. Stick them between the third and fourth ribs. You will tell your Arika that. They must have the killer instinct. Tell them to stick ’em. Stick ’em in the liver. We will get the name of killers and killers are immortal. When word reaches Nagi that he is being faced by a killer otome battalion he will fight less. We must build up that name as killers.
At this point if we get even a little bit of Shiz x Nats, and MIYU x Nao, and Sergei or Nina or Nagi preferably all three die then I will consider this to be a decent sequel.
C’mon Arika time to kill Nina she has no qualms about killing you. they say do unto others as you would have done to yourself. Nina wants to kill you therefore she wants you to kill her.
-More Blood wine!
@ ayyo
Love the sarcasm.
@ Saria
You’re cheering for a middle-aged men to score with 14 year old girls… ? o_O;;
@ Crusader
Wait, don’t give Sunrise any ideas… they just very well may put Klingons into Otome.
@Jason
Hmm…watching Sergei pick his nose while he ponders whether or not to make West Virginia giddy or have Klingons hang Nagi by his ears and use Sergei and Nina’s ashes to pave Gre’thor. Though choice indeed… ;)
I just hope they plan to drag this out and make it all worth it in the end or go down with a bang. I would also like the names of the so called scriptwriters so I can fart in their general direction stupid sons of a silly person, animal food trough wipers, those silly Japanese wipers of other people’s bottoms.
Hey! Jason
You just forget to say something about this episode, Arika is the daughter of Rena, but also she is a direct descendent of Alyssa Sears.
I always thought you should’ve captioned the shot where Natsuki’s looking over at Mai with a frown as “How annoying… yours are bigger than mine!”
We’ll see if Sergey goes West Virginia to take care of Lolita Nina’s.. ahem… problem… or if he’ll find another way to screw Nagi over without doing the same thing to Nina.
@ Syaoran
Wait, that implies that it’s the same Mikoto… I thought Mai Otome was a reboot of Hime, like Gundam Seed to Gundam.
@ Haess
Easily fixed!
They never said she is direct descendant of Alyssa Sears, at least not in the anime. There is not even a mention of Alyssa or Sears in this episode.
Incidentally, the last shot there… it should be “Breast Check” – which is why Mashiro seems a little put out. ;) “Nonexistent – bigger – huge”.
4:10 am and another good read , i love this site before bed , this site + gabber techno is the best
“It’s just so bad, it’s good,” – ’nuff said.
This Otome suckage is something bit hard to even _believe_ 4me: I watch every ep with a completely stunned-eediot “hu?” face, now. Only one thing would please me a little, some SerGay whipping, because OK for spineless, OK for indecisive, OK for overall-useless, but this guy is going BEYOND league.
Gomen then…
But I don’t know… I hope Sergay do the right thing with Nina
“Where did our scriptwriters go wrong?†is such a simple answer: too many hash brownies.
BTW, my special panel discussion would deal with how to make a semi-passable series yet still rake in profits through merchandise sales. Not only would I be a respectable scholar in the field, but am also one of the top #100 listed spenders in the recent “2005 Otaku Buyers” guide ;)
BUT – if Sergay manages to *strip* ^_^ Nina of her Otome powers,possibly enjoying the process, this show hits the JACKPOT for me, and gets 10.000.000 pts, and I’ll be a MAI-Otome fan for life, and I’ll put a poster of Sergay in my room. Of course the chance is 1/1.000.000.000 (maybe less).
I think that pot brownies would have improved the show.
I’m just disappointed that they made such a big deal about male protein at the beginning of the series for naught.
Cheer up – maybe the male protein thing was a build-up for this… assuming, of course, the scriptwriters could hold the same train of thought, much less seeds for a storyline, for an entire series straight.
Maybe Sergey was raised in a population that originally came from West Virginia after all? That or the Ozarks…
While not directly related to this episode, one thing I’ve been wondering in general for a while is why everybody acts like Nina, Arika, and company are all such kids, or that them being in sexual relationships or fighting is so shocking (or loli or whatever). They are all around 15 years old. They aren’t kids. In not a minority, but a -majority- of our planet, people that age are already raising families, fighting wars, dealing with death, helping to run households, working (often in really nasty jobs), and basically doing anything else adult. I live in America, and am amongst the more fortunate of the world population for sure. Even so, by the time I was 16 I had already been in 2 gang shoot outs, been nearly shot myself twice, then escaped from that and gone to work and high school (eventually on to college). Friends have been drug users, committed suicide, been killed, gotten pregnant, and that’s in a pretty nice area of the country.
Why the hell do so many people think “zomg, 15 year old = can’t possibly comprehend serious relationships or violence!!1!one”? It’s a pretty nice luxury to be able to act like a kid until you’re 18 or whatever, but it’s hardly true that all humans don’t develop until then.
>> 20
‘Cuz they act like kids. Nothing Mashiro, Arika, and Nina have done makes me think, “Wow, they’re wise beyond their years.” If they hadn’t said tha the Rena incident was 14 years ago, I’d swear they were closer to 12 than 14 just due to their hideously naive/childish nature. Yes, there are people who grow up faster, but not the Otome girls… they haven’t proven that they can behave or act like adults.
Hey Jason; I was right about Arika. Miyu said she protect her because she has the blood of her beloved ojou-sama (Alyssa Sayers). Many things of this cahpter make me wonder if Mai Otome is a direct sequel, in a far future, of Mai Hime.
At least we know Arika is a relative of Alyssa